Night 76

Recipe 36

BLT Pasta Bake: Bacon, Leeks, and Tomatoes

Matt rating *****

Ingredients used:

Coarse salt

Elbow macaroni

EVOO

Bacon

Leeks

Coarse black pepper

Unsalted butter

Flour

Cayenne pepper

Paprika

Milk

Chicken stock

Gruyere cheese

Dijon mustard

Cherry tomatoes (from my garden!)

Plain bread crumbs

I figured that for my last night with Matt before I leave town for a week that I would make him something cheesy that he would no doubt enjoy. As always, cheese never fails with my husband! I would consider this recipe another take on grown-up macaroni and cheese. This made A LOT, so I was able to put some into a casserole dish to freeze for a later date. There was also plenty left over to get Matt through a couple of lunches while I'm gone. With only 7 hours left until I need to get up to catch my flight, I'd better post this and hit the sack!

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Mandy

Night 75

Recipe 138

Spinach and Artichoke Calzones

Matt rating **1/2 (I would give it ***1/2)

Ingredients used:

S&P

Walnut pieces

Artichoke hearts

Garlic

Lemon zest

Flat-leaf parsley

Parmigiano-Reggiano

Grated nutmeg

Ricotta cheese

Frozen chopped spinach

Pizza dough

Flour

Shredded Italian cheese

I was blown away with how easy it was to make calzones! I will definitely make them again, but maybe next time make them with a meat and cheese filling to suit Matt's tastes. He wasn't too much into all the spinach, but I thought it was pretty tasty. The only thing I would have done differently for this specific recipe is to add some marinara sauce for dipping. Otherwise, I thought it was pretty decent!

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Mandy

Night 74

Recipe 51

Big, Thick, Hearty Thighs Spanish Style

Matt rating ****1/2

Ingredients used:

EVOO

Chicken thighs

S&P

Yellow onion

Garlic

Thyme

Chorizo

Dry white wine

Chicken stock

Red potatoes

Roasted red peppers

Frozen peas

Flat-leaf parsley

Crusty bread

This was a spin off of a master recipe that I cooked back in December that received the same rating from Matt. I used bone-in chicken thighs that I got from my food co-op, so I cooked them for a little bit longer than called for. The addition of chorizo and roasted red peppers made it into a totally different tasting dish, and even Judah liked it! The crusty bread was great for sopping up all the yummy juice.

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Mandy

Night 73

Recipe 304

Zucchini and Bow Ties

Matt rating ****1/2

Ingredients used:

Coarse salt

Bow-tie pasta

EVOO

Garlic cloves

Zucchini

Coarse black pepper

Parmigiano-Reggiano

Fresh basil

Changes to recipe:

Penne pasta instead of bow-tie

Garlic salt instead of garlic cloves (how was I out of garlic cloves?!?!?)

Added one yellow squash

Added fresh cherry tomatoes from my garden

This was a perfect summertime recipe with fresh veggies from my food co-op pickup yesterday as well as fresh basil and cherry tomatoes from my garden. Matt gave this a great rating, in spite of the fact that it didn't have any meat in it. It is great cold as well, as we found out after putting it on ice and taking it to a music festival at Deer Valley today. Smacky!

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Mandy

Night 72

Recipe 113

Ginger-Soy Chicken on Shredded Lettuce

Matt rating ****1/2

Ingredients used:

Vegetable oil

Chicken breast cutlets

S&P

Fresh ginger

Garlic cloves

Red pepper flakes

Scallions

Tamari

Honey

I added/changed:

Added white rice

Changed out iceberg lettuce for a salad with asian dressing

This is considered MYOTO (Make Your Own Take-Out). It was really easy to make and was really good for at-home Chinese food! Made extra to take to a friend who was suffering from a back injury and his roommate, plus more for another family. I hope they like it as much as we did!

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Mandy